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John McClane
John McClaneis a fictional character and the protagonist in the Die Hard series of films. He is portrayed by actor Bruce Willis. Empire ranked him as number 12 of the 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time list. [1] In addition to appearing in the four Die Hard films, McClane also has an uncredited cameo appearance in Loaded Weapon 1. A famous catchphrase of the character is "Yippee ki-yay, motherfucker!", which he says most commonly before or after killing the head terrorist of the film. ' Development and description '''John McClane was originally based on the fictional character Detective Joe Leland from ' Roderick Thorp's novel, Nothing Lasts Forever, along with another character, Frank Malone from''' Walter Wager's novel 58 Minutes (later adapted as Die Hard 2) and is somewhat based on and inspired by Dirty Harry(Hint- Right before we first see him in action). Die Hard villain Hans Gruber describes him as an "American Cowboy" and as a John Wayne. McClane's marriage is in a constant state of crisis, his vigilantism and disregard for authority have put him in danger of losing his job more than once, and he is a chain-smoker who is described as "two steps away from becoming a full blown alcoholic," which McClane jokingly upgrades to only "one step". [2] ' '''The trailer for the first Die Hard film states, "The last thing McClane wants is to be a hero, but he doesn't have a choice." In the fourth film, he says he gets involved in dangerous situations "because there is nobody else to do it." [3] ' 'Depiction ' '''In Die Hard, John McClane is a detectivewith the New York City Police Departmentand has been an officer for 11 years. At the beginning of the first film, he is separatedfrom his wife, Holly Gennero, who is using her maiden name. Holly moved to Los Angelesseveral months earlier to pursue a career, leading to their separation. They have two children, Lucy and John, Jr. 'On Christmas Eve, McClane visits his wife at her workplace at the Nakatomi Plaza. Simultaneously, Hans Gruber initiates his plan to steal $640 million in bearer bonds and takes the Nakatomi Company employees, including Holly, hostage. McClane escapes during the initial round-up of the hostages and eventually defeats the criminals. ' 'Bruce Willis makes a brief, uncredited celebrity cameo as McClane in the comedy National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1. In it a helicopter launches an attack upon a beach house in California. From the rubble McClane staggers out and tells him it's the wrong address. The film starred Samuel L. Jackson who would star next to Willis again in Die Hard with a Vengeance, and several other projects. ' 'After the events of Die Hard, McClane moves to Los Angeles, is promoted to lieutenant and is transferred to the Los Angeles Police Department. During this time, McClane appears to have become a national hero. Dialogue in the second film reveals that he was featured in People Magazine, did a spot on Nightline, and was referred to (by villain Colonel Stuart) as "the policeman hero who saved the Nakatomi hostages" along with a local news crew. In Die Hard 2, which takes place on Christmas Eve 1990 [4], McClane discovers that mercenaries have seized control of Washington Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C.. They take control of the airport's communications and threaten to cause plane crashes unless their demands are met. Holly is traveling on one of the planes and is stranded as her plane circles overhead. McClane foils the scheme. ' 'By the events of the third film, Die Hard with a Vengeance, Holly and John have separated and McClane has moved back to New York City. McClane mentions this strife as he and Zeus Carver foil Simon Gruber's plot to steal the Federal Reserve's gold bullion. ' 'In Live Free or Die Hard, which takes place on Independence Day, McClane is assigned to take hacker Matt Farrell into FBI custody (McClane is mentioned as having been on the force for 30 years at the time of this film). However, they soon discover that a group of terrorists are conducting a fire sale and are systematically taking out the nation's infrastructure (including power plants, traffic lights, transportation, and financial markets). McClane and his wife are divorced and McClane is not on speaking terms with his daughter, Lucy. During the course of the film Lucy is kidnapped by the terrorists as leverage against McClane. ' 'Remember when we first meat John McClane ... *sing* ' 'Reception ' 'John McClane was ranked sixth in Entertainment Weekly's list of the top twenty "All-Time Coolest Heroes in Pop Culture" in April 2009. The magazine said "Bruce Willis' wisecracking, terrorist-foiling New York cop established himself as the anti-' Bond" throughout the four Die Hard films. Entertainment Weekly listed the characters portrayed by Keanu Reeves in Speed, Wesley Snipes in Passenger 57, and Jean-Claude Van Damme in Sudden Death as "copycat descendants" of John McClane.